Thursday, November 26, 2015

Not often that I would promote Black Friday sales, but 'saving' seems to be the word I hear alot recently perhaps due to the economic downturn we are facing here in Alberta. But hey, if that 'gifting desire' for your loved ones is still within you and you are working on a tight budget, here's something for you!

CrossIron Mills is gearing up for one of the busiest shopping days of the year. The shopping centre welcomes shoppers to experience the mall wide Black Friday Frenzy deals through extended shopping hours starting at 8am and staying open late until 10pm. The Black Friday gift card sale and Shop ’Til You Drop contest are 2015 initiatives introduced by CrossIron Mills to entice shoppers to take full advantage of Black Friday deals.

As a reward for early Black Friday shoppers, CrossIron Mills will offer their first gift card sale of the year to the first 250 shoppers that arrive at the Guest Services desk located in the Ranch Neighbourhood near Entry 2. Shoppers will have the opportunity to purchase a $100 CrossIron Mills gift cards for only $75 therefore receiving a bonus of $25!

Furthermore, on Friday and continuing over the weekend, CrossIron Mills will be giving customers a chance to win a $20,000 shopping experience, including a six-day tour of three Canadian cities of their choice to shop at three Ivanhoé Cambridge shopping centres. To enter the Shop ’Til You Drop contest, customers will need to snap a photo of themselves with their shopping bags at one of the two Black Friday in-mall displays and simply upload it to the CrossIron Mills Facebook page.

Due to their overwhelming popularity in the past few years, CrossIron Mills is happy to bring back the celebrated Black Friday Blitz bags. The first 500 shoppers to show up at Guest Services on Black Friday on November 27 will be given swag bags that will include promotional vouchers, gift cards and product samples to kick start their shopping day.

“We are tremendously excited to welcome customers on what has become one of the most exhilarating shopping days of the year. We hope that our initiatives will enhance the shopping experience,” says Neha Khare, Marketing Director at CrossIron Mills. “Our retailers are stocking up, staffing appropriately, and offering some of the very best sales."

CrossIron Mills will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday. For more information, please visit: http://www.crossironmills.com/en/

Do the things you love with passion; Learn from those you admire; Strive to become an expert at what you do xx

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

An Interview With Jack Jackson On The Importance Of Transgender Awareness

We’ve come to an age where technology has
brought people closer together than ever before. Ideas and information are
spread rapidly through social media platforms. We’ve also become more opened
for discussions on topics that we would've once kept inside a shoebox. Ironically, I think there is still a sense of hesitation when we talk about transgender people. We are grateful to live in the part of the world or society where all walks
of life from different ethnicity background, cultures and sexual preferences are (or should be)
embraced. Yet, I felt we could do better in terms of bringing transgender awareness to our communities.

According to research by
the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 41 per cent of trans people
living in the U.S. have attempted or considered suicide, compared to 1.6 per
cent of the general population. Pledged to make a change, Jack Jackson established Alljackedup,
a fashion conscious shop and community for the queer, androgynous,
transmasculine. To celebrate and support Transgender Awareness Week 2015 (started since
November 14th and until November 20th), Jackson had
designed a one-off, limited production of commemorative bow tie. The unique
feature of this bow tie design is decorated with names of transgender role
models and heroes that inspired Jackson. The bow tie is currently available on
Alljackedup online shop. Fifty per cent of the proceeds from the sale of the
bow tie and all other Alljackedup products purchased during Transgender
Awareness Week will go to Supporting Our Youth (SOY), an organization that is
dedicated to improving lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual
and intersex youth. I had the opportunity to interview Jackson, to find out how
we, can also support bringing transgender awareness to the rest of the
community.

Jack Jackson

How did you come up with the idea of putting
transgender role model names onto your bowtie?

Often news
stories on trans issues tend to be headlines about trans murders, hate and
violence (which of course needs to be reported, and indeed, is probably
underreported). But I wanted to also highlight some of the positive stories,
inspirational characters and showcase some unsung heroes. Trans people’s lives
are so diverse and I thought the tie was a perfect statement piece to start a
conversation around them.

Are there colour variations of these special
bowties and bowtie-shaped lapel pin?

The lapel pin
just comes in one colour – I want the symbol to become representative of trans
awareness in the same way that the red ribbon became the universal symbol of
awareness and support for those living with HIV. The commemorative bow ties
come in four different colours – silver silk on soft blue wool with blue print,
orange-grey shot cotton with grey print, purple-orange shot cotton with blue
print, and gold yellow cotton with black print.

How have these role models made a change in your
life?

I’ve been
following some of these people for years, some I am just discovering. I think
ultimately that hearing others' stories, knowing trans history, seeing the
successes, struggles, wisdom, humour, authenticity and courage gave me the
balls to start living my life in a way that felt right for me. Many of the
people named on the commemorative bow tie are working tirelessly to raise
awareness of trans issues which ultimately makes navigating my day to day life
easier.

What are the main issues causing the general public
to not pay enough attention to the well-being of transgender people?

I think this
comes down to simply not being informed. When I was at school, gender was
something that was never taught or discussed – thankfully, this is changing.
Fear, ignorance and misunderstanding also play a role. Issues that are believed
to only affect a tiny percentage of the population are all to easily
overlooked. Unfortunately ignorance about the issues affecting trans
people’s lives has very disturbing consequences with an alarming attempted
suicide / self harm rate of trans and gender non-conforming individuals being
around the 41% mark compared to 1.6% of the general population (in the
US).

This
statistic is deeply disturbing in a progressive society in 2015 and should
demand attention. The magnitude of the problems faced by gender variant
people could not be clearer with this stark statistic, but what is truly
shocking is that this is a direct result of societal discrimination, systemic
discrimination and violence both verbal and physical. Let’s be clear on one
thing, the issues trans people face are largely caused by the daily
discrimination and violence they face, they do not stem from dissatisfaction
within themselves.

I
think it’s also important to stress that gender stereotypes and strict gender
binaries do not simply just affect transgender people, they also impact the
lives of cisgender people. The notion of gender being only binary is a dated
concept that often only serves to promote the well being of the ‘straight alpha
male’ at the expense of all other genders.

In addition to SOY, what other programs are out
there in Canada that provide help and support to the transgender community
(both youths and adults)?

I’m not
familiar with the rest of Canada, but in Toronto I know the following
organisations provide trans specific programs – Egale Canada, The 519 Community
Centre, Thrive and the Stars Project, Delisle Youth Services, Gender Journeys
at the Sherbourne Health Centre.

How can we, as a community, make changes and
encourage support for transgender people in the general population?

I think we
need to start the conversation around gender– with our children, our families
our work place. I was at a shop recently where I was asked about my work and
the Ties to Love™ Campaign and the owner told me that her 12 year old
granddaughter had come home from school and challenged her to name 5 different
genders!

We can push
for gender-neutral washroom options in public areas, schools and the workplace
(a simple yet daily concern for many trans people). We can challenge the use of
transphobic language. We can ask that schools and workplaces bring in trained
facilitators to deliver workshops educating people on transgender issues. If we
are unsure of someone’s preferred pronoun we can ask them.

Jack Jackson and Lea DeLaria

Lets keep the conversation
going!! Jackson encourages transgender people and allies alike to post a photos
of themselves wearing their own bow ties during Transgender Awareness Week with
the hashtag #TiesToLove.

Do the things you love with passion; Learn from those you admire; Strive to become an expert at what you do xx

Thursday, November 12, 2015

The Fashion Calgary Portrait Campaign celebrates the diverse cultures of Calgary. Every
year, Fashion Calgary selects incredible individuals (artists, musicians,
writers, TV personalities, philanthropists, culinary chefs…) who represent and
have contributed their unique talents to shape this city to become ‘cultural
ambassadors’. The 2015 portrait campaign gala was recently held at Jack
Singer Concert Hall, where all of this year’s portraits were revealed and
displayed. This year Fashion Calgary selected 26 cultural ambassadors including Sheldon Kennedy, Jay Ingram,
Kris Demeanor, Cheryl Bernard, Chad Oakes, Ellen Doty and Atsushi Ono. Portions
received from silent auctions and donations goes to the Pediatric Imaging
Research Program which is part of the Brain Health Division at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

For more details of the portrait campaign, visit Fashion Calgary's page HERE.

Do the things you love with passion; Learn from those you admire; Strive to become an expert at what you do xx

An incredible night at
Contemporary Calgary’s LOOK2015, presented by Holt Renfrew, Calgary
Herald, City of Calgary and Enbridge, the fundraising event that attracted more
than 700 people from diverse industries to support Contemporary Calgary’s
major project of transforming Centennial Planetarium into a modern space for
contemporary art. The evening began with an inspiring presentation by Adam
Gopnik, followed by music entertainment by Canadian music-duo HUMANS and
live art showcase at various locations in the building by Tia Halliday. With
the tremendous effort from passionate supporters at the silent and live
auctions (hosted by Dan Levy) and the generosity from anonymous donors,
Contemporary Calgary had reached its goal raising $1 million. The money will be
used to develop a space called the ‘Temporary Calgary’ - a pop-up art gallery that
is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016. A huge congratulation to Contemporary
Calgary’s success at the 2nd LOOK event, and with this momentum, I
can’t wait to experience the new Centennial Planetarium space and see what it has
to offer to elevate Calgary’s contemporary art culture.

Do the things you love with passion; Learn from those you admire; Strive to become an expert at what you do xx